How did your kids get summer internships?

Parents Forum
1

<p>How did your kids get appropriate and interesting interships during their soph/jr and jr/sr summers? Something in the physical sciences at the local university would be great, but I don't have an idea of where to start.</p>

2

<p>do you mean for college-age students? if so, the way i went about it was by asking a prof at the university in which i'm enrolled if he knew anyone at university X who might be willing to take an undergrad for the summer... and sure enough, he did, and i had a great time working in that prof's lab. i also had several friends who had good luck simply emailing lots and lots of profs until they found one willing to talk to them, although this works much better at one's home institution because the profs can go ask your current teachers about your work (wouldn't have worked too well for me without the recommendation, because the university at which i was looking for an internship was all the way across the country from the one i actually attend; if i hadn't already had an "in," i believe it's very unlikely that any of the profs would have given my email a second glance).</p>

<p>so, where to start:
1) your kid should check in with current profs (ask if they known anyone)
2) your kid might have luck sending lots and lots of emails to people in the department they're interested in working in</p>

<p>if you're talking summer after soph or junior years of high school, i'm not sure (1) will be much help, though (2) might... it would definitely help if you know someone in the department or in a related department who could provide a reference/make the connection/vouch for your kid though. if it's a local university, do you know any kids whose parents are professors there?</p>

3

<p>The area in which I live has a nonprofit group that puts on the local science fair and arranges local internships (both science and non-science related) for high school students.</p>

<p>You might want to check with your high school's counselors to see if they know of a similar program in your area.</p>

4

<p>Is there a way to get an internship/work that is not in a lab? This is what most kids I know get, but my son is interested in the law (he already did some engineering apprenticeships.) Any ideas?</p>

5

<p>If you're talking about a college kid, then career placement may work. In addition, at my university, the pre-law advisors will have such information (various programs that offer pre-law -- political science, sociology, criminal justice, history, etc.) or more generally academic advisors in your son's major. My son got his internship via personal contacts (me) with people engaged in a social/family research project; a great experience for him doing research and data analysis.</p>

6

<p>Thanks mackinaw! I'm sure his college must have a prelaw advisor since it has a law school. I will pass on your advice about this as well as the career placement service..thanks!</p>

7

<p>Kids in college can subscribe to listserves, where they get e-mails are sent out to those kids who signed up for certain information. You can also get on your college CAPS listserve, and get automatically generated information related to internships, campus jobs etc.</p>

8

<p>Our daughter got an internship offer after interviewing with various industrial representatives at the annual Job Fair at her university (U. of Illinois).</p>

9

<p>my 9th grade son works as a research assistant for a professor in the philosophy department at a top 25 LAC. we live nearby, which helps, but all he did was email professors, explained his interests and asked if they were looking for assistance. He was flexible on hours and days, listed his qualifications (microsoft office, etc) and told a little about himself. He also volunteered to work for free if they weren't looking to hire. </p>

<p>He was hired, $7.50 an hour, and loves his job! </p>

<p>i think a combination of luck and persistance is what it takes -- and contacts if you have them (we didn't).</p>

10

<p>Here is another twist. A friend's daughter was a student at Bard and was interested in a career in law enforcement(go figure-this was before CSI). There were no listings for such an internship at Career Services so she created her own opportunity. Working through Bard's Career Services office, she contacted a number of local police departments and State Police offices. Most had never considered sponsoring a college intern but she received several offers and chose the one which seemed most interesting to her.</p>

11

<p>Lots of talk about internships here but how about just finding a summer job related to a student's major? I do some consulting work for local/state government departments and some engineering firms. I am glad to shake some trees to help a student find summer engineering work. No, he does not get any course credit, the emploiyer does not have to get the position approved by the college and does not have to report on the student's performance. </p>

<p>But the student does get fine work experience and a possible job lead as graduation day approaches. And because I was somewhat involved at the beginning the employer knows that the student is not looking to be assigned to the mail or file room.</p>

12

<p>I'm sorry, I was not clear. I meant internships for a kid in high school, both to help steer them in a direction they might want to follow and for their college applications. Some of these replies addressed this, but I would be interested in any other comments you have. Next time, I will remember soph/jr also means college level!</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

13

<p>Oops! I thought we were talking about college students. Sorry!</p>

<p>My son found these things through his high school guidance office, but I wasn't sure where to look for summer work/internships in college.</p>

14

<p>My daughter's internship last summer was with a state district judge. The other non-science placements were with attornies and non-profit organizations.</p>

15

<p>Actually Dellen, most college students are referred to as First Years, Second Years etc.</p>

16

<p>I'm doing an internship in neuroscience research at Georgetown University this summer. I just emailed a professor whose research I was interested in (I'd seen his presentation at a science symposium for high school students a few weeks earlier) and asked if he'd let me do it.


</p>

17

<p>Internships are harder to come by in HS. A number of places won't take anyone under 18. Thinkof the places where you would have your teen do volunteer work, those are logical internship possibilities.</p>

18

<p>I agree with Spikemom. Both of my kids did High School internships once, but that was only because we were fortunate to have a friend/associate who helped out. Other than that they have worked in normal teen-type jobs, and volunteered at hospitals, churches etc.</p>

<p>Another possible internship opportunity could be at your local Government/Assemblyman office.</p>

19

<p>What is your high school student interested in. It helps to state that he/she is interested in law, medicine, engineering, science, the environment, journalism, etc. Then people can steer you in a specific direction.</p>

<p>Also, does your hs student have a hook, i.e. urm, female, multilingual?</p>

<p>For example, if your hs student is interested in law, I would suggest contacting your local or county bar assn., university law school, legal aid society or ACLU. Chances are, a hs student will just end up delivering mail or making copies, but at least he/she would be in the legal environment.</p>

<p>A female hs student definitely should look to female affinity groups for assistance, i.e.</p>

<p>American Association of University Women - AAWU
Expanding Your Horizons
League of Women Voters
Society of Women in Engineering - SWE
YWCA
local women's business, professional, religious or other groups</p>

20

<p>I found this on a university website...hs students can adapt it to meet your needs, academic experience, etc.</p>

<p>How to Create an Internship
Source: <a href="http://www.utahintern.org%5B/url%5D%5B/center%5D%5Blist%5D%5B*%5DIdentify"&gt;www.utahintern.org[ul][li]Identify&lt;/a> an organization you would like to work for. Choose an organization that will help you reach your career goals. You want to find a place that will give you good hands-on experience and will build your resume.[/li][<em>]Research the organization. Before you contact the company, do some research. Learn which area of the company you would like to work in and read as much as you can about that area and the organization as a whole. If you can get your hands on mission statements and goals of the organization, you will have a better understanding of the company and the types of contributions that you can make.
[</em>]Contact your potential project supervisor or the human resources department. Once you know where you would like to work in an organization, find out which person you should contact. With a small business, you might want to go all the way to the top. With medium- and large-sized business, you should probably talk to the head of the area or division where you would like to work. Whomever you choose, make a call to establish a more personal contact. Explain who you are, where you are going to school, and what you are studying. Then explain how working as an intern for his or her company will benefit you in your career goals. Establish a time that you can meet them at the office, and refer them to utahintern.org to better understand the function of an intern. After the call, send a follow-up email to indicate your continued interest and to thank the contact for his or her time. When you meet at the office, bring a cover letter and resume.
[<em>]If you would like to receive credit, contact your college or university. Most schools provide credit for internships that meet certain basic criteria. Please talk to your university about the possibility of receiving course credit. Usually, there needs to be a contract between yourself, your college, and the company where you will do the internship. It is your responsibility to make sure that the proper paperwork is filled out and the necessary signatures are obtained. But at the same time, remember that advisors at your college can greatly assist you in this process.
[</em>]Encourage your supervisor to open up a regular internship program for the company. Upon completion of your internship, speak to your supervisor about implementing a permanent internship program. Direct your supervisor to <a href="http://www.utahintern.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.utahintern.org&lt;/a> for help in this task, and suggest that they speak with local schools about posting internship openings.[/ul]other links:
<a href="http://www.uis.edu/appliedstudy/create_your_internship.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.uis.edu/appliedstudy/create_your_internship.htm&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.summerjobs.com/jobSeekers/resources/articles/From_Internship_to_Career.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.summerjobs.com/jobSeekers/resources/articles/From_Internship_to_Career.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.eachofus.com/ARKguest/internship.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.eachofus.com/ARKguest/internship.htm&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/articles/internships/nonpaying.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/articles/internships/nonpaying.asp&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/articles/internships/internshipDesign.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/articles/internships/internshipDesign.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>